It took some doing but she managed it, leaping onto Orochimaru's back. He didn't blink, he just kept walking as Ariha secured herself on his back, her arms stretching past him to show him her research log.
"I'm getting closer," she said by way of bragging.
Orochimaru offered her a brief smile. She was doing rather well. He expected nothing less from someone who had studied, however briefly, under Tsunade.
"Those scrolls the brat brought back are surprisingly advanced," she remarked.
Orochimaru smiled at that.
"That brat is to be my next body," Orochimaru pointed out, still scanning her log.
"I don't understand why you don't just take mine. Or let me craft one for you," Ariha said.
"You are my daughter. As for crafting one, your imitations are almost life like but they have no capacity for chakra," he said. "It is not so easy to give up, the life of a shinobi."
Ariha sighed, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Very well," she said.
Orochimaru reached back, resting a hand on her head. His hands had gotten worse, still purple in color, but now what little feeling he'd had was gone. He could muster up enough strength of will to touch her but beyond that, there was no other benefit.
"I don't like him," Ariha mumbled.
"I know," he replied, mussing her hair.
She didn't object, having cut it short ages ago. It had grown back but just barely.
"Have you shared your results with Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked.
She was in another of her moods and he still had yet to figure out how to get her out of them. It had been so much easier when she was a child and a simple utter of 'go play' had been enough.
"Kabuto is occupied," she said but she slid off his back.
He missed her weight almost instantly.
"Ariha," he began.
He turned but was too late. She'd already vanished.

She chose to ignore Sasuke who followed behind her like a lost dog as she headed out. She breathed in the hot air, tucking her log book in the bag on her thigh. She'd traveled more with Orochimaru than she ever had in her life, which said something because Hell was far more expansive than the world of the living. It branched into various realms, each a creation of the living's design really. Of course, the most prominent being the fire filled wrath pit that she'd been raised in. Or maybe it was Satan's pick, that the realm that hosted his or her throne be as fearsome as the ruler itself. Ariha pondered this, for one day that throne would be hers. She'd known the chaos of that fire pit from birth and a part of her always longed for the heat. She got cold much easier, even in places like,say, the Sand village. She tripped, cursing as she caught herself. Ok, it was time to pay attention. She needed to figure out how it was she was going to replicate chakra lines. It was something she never had to worry about. She'd been raised and taught how to defend herself with the power that came from her demon half. Chakra was a useful fall back but not a necessity. Perhaps if she could infuse the fakes with some sort of hell power. She didn't doubt that Orochimaru would find the life of a demon that much more satisfying than the limitations posed by relying on chakra.
'What do you think?' she asked Maru.
She wasn't just asking for an opinion on her father. Maru had lived for millenia. She had been there at the world's creation and it was a good bet that she'd be there at its end. Some beings were infinite. There would always be darkness and shade and thus there would always be Maru. And there always had been Maru. But for some reason, Maru was ignoring her question, there but just silent.
'What's wrong?' Ariha prodded.
She didn't like the silence. Maru's silence meant she sent her awareness out, let it spread wherever she wanted to allow herself to know what was going on and it was something she usually did when Ariha was asleep, needing less protection and guidance than she did when she was awake. That she might be doing so while Ariha was very much awake and mobile at that made her uncomfortable. It meant that the night prior, she'd become aware of something and had either worked to aid or detour it. And that she may not have been successful in the latter.
'It is your friend,' Maru reported. 'The lightning wielder.'
Misha. Ariha sighed deeply. 2 years later and she was still being pursued.
'What do you recommend?'
She'd missed her friends but the desperation that fueled much of her attachment to them had somewhat left her. She had tried to use them to fill up the feelings of abandonment stemming from the absence of a father in her life. Those feelings were gone now as she was able to be with her father. Able to help him and make him proud as she proved how efficient she was in much of what he asked her to do. And he asked so little.
'She is influenced too much by her demonic half,' Maru said. 'She will hunt you until she drags you back. There are only two options. Cripple her or kill her.'
Annoying as she was, Misha was one of her closest friends and she couldn't bring herself to kill her. Maru was right though. Misha was influenced in part by her demon half and thus she felt emotions more deeply. Determination and betrayal fueled her now, leading to her dedication to the hunt. But if she was physically incapable of hunting, depression and a sense of failure would sieze control and maybe, just maybe, it would settle in and discourage her from picking the hunt up again. Ariha could only hope.
'Where is she?'
She had to be close for Maru to be sensing her.
'North. Only a few hours away.'
Hours. Misha's sense of tracking had gotten better. To have gotten so close. She didn't need any chakra, being half demon. And she was very nearly a match for Ariha. It made her dangerous and the way she'd come to learn Orochimaru was, he tended to eliminate anything dangerous. Before it became lethal.
"Sasuke."
Ariha really didn't want to use him. She hated his existence and every breath he took was an insult to him. But he made a good errand boy.
"What?" he asked.
She'd asked him to fetch things before. He'd become an assistant of sorts. But the rewards for doing her bidding were well worth playing fetch.
"At the base of the mountain there, there is a poison master. Ask him for something I can use like incense. He'll know what I'm talking about," she said. "Bring it back as soon as possible."
She tossed him a bag of money, enough to cover the poison and more.
"Then head to the blacksmith and get me a sword."
Sasuke pocketed the bag and was gone, his presence faded fast.
'A sword?' Maru questioned.
Ariha rarely used weapons and usually she grabbed what was on hand.
'You'll see,' was Ariha's mysterious answer as she headed back inside.
She didn't retreat to her room, as she had a tendency to do. Instead, she headed for the lower levels, the mess of tunnels, where the prisoners, or what was left of them, were kept. She passed cages, ignoring whispers and cat calls, calls that were instantly silenced. The fools, the ones that had been around longer, knew she was dangerous. They'd come to fear her only when she'd thrown a now blind Uchiha into their midst and left him a quivering mess. She wondered if they discovered just what a mess he was. Mentally, she reminded herself to check on Caleb. But she had other goals in mind, her feet taking her to the only unlocked cell. Inside was a girl with brown hair. And light brown eyes. Her features were ordinary, pretty but not odd, not attention grabbing. To anyone else, she was just a prisoner. But Ariha knew her. She was Blake, the one originally selected to be Orochimaru's new body. She was a girl without a past or a future, her words. And when Sasuke had caught Orochimaru's eye, she was no longer needed, no longer special. At least, not to Orochimaru. But Ariha had seen her in training and she was one of the few females still alive as well as the only one that didn't hide behind a man when a fight broke was ready to defend herself, rather than sell her body for a sliver of protection. Ariha could respect that. More importantly, she could use that. Blake was sitting on her meager cot, her back against the wall, slumping. She was still not happy with the chain of events, not happy to be sitting in the hellish cell rather than allowed the privilege and prestige of being in Orochimaru's inner circle. And to be included in that ring, you had to be useful or his daughter.
"What do you want?" Blake demanded.
"I need you to retrieve someone for me," Ariha replied, her face a blank mask.
She'd seen Orochimaru use it, namely when he wanted to scare a prisoner into submission, keep them guessing until the last second. Blake sat up a little straighter. She'd damn near bloodied Kabuto when he'd tried using her for an experiment. But retrieving something meant that next time he came in, she'd have earned some favor with Ariha. Maybe enough to get her a pardon.
"Who?"
"His name is Shouta Izasumu," Ariha informed her. "I can tell you all about him. The only requirement I have is that you have to bring him back alive."
Blake grinned as she stood.
"It will be as you wish," she said, a glimmer in her eyes that promised malice.
Ariha kept her face blank as she turned. She didn't speak but Blake followed, having more than the pea sized brain that many of the subjects possessed.
"He's a bit of a cynic," she remarked. "So he will be wary if you approach him too hostily. That being said, he's no knight so don't try to be a damsel."
Blake snorted, softly, and Ariha smiled a bit. She rarely liked using such weak ploy's to draw in her prey and it was refreshing that Blake wasn't like that either.
"He and an old friend of mine each share the soul of a powerful demon. Shouta, though, doesn't have a fighter's bone in his body. But he is clever and he has a tendency to think outside of the box," Ariha went on. "So your best bet is to follow him, wait for him to fall asleep and then grab him."
"And if he puts up a fight?" Blake asked. "If I have to fight him, I can hurt him right?"
"Nothing lethal," Ariha instructed.
She turned suddenly, facing Blake who tensed instantly. Good, she was alert. Ariha reached into the bag on her thigh, drawing out two vials of violet liquid.
"This is a sedative of my own design, meant to suppress demons and their abilities. I'm going to use it on him anyways but I'm sure it will make transporting him easier."
Blake took it, tucking it into the front of her kimono.
"Anything else?" she asked.
Ariha shook her head, smiling.
"Now go," she ordered. "I expect you back tonight if not early in the morning."
"Such a short time?" Blake scoffed.
"If Sasuke gets back soon, you'll have longer," she promised. "But only if."
Blake made a face at the mention of Sasuke but she took off, figuring the way out with ease as she went to accomplish her mission.
'How much longer?' Ariha mentally asked Maru.
The wolf was silent for only a second. Not a good sign.
'She's closer,' Maru reported.
Ariha gritted her teeth, knowing Misha was probably following her scent. Or even Maru's demonic presence. If it was the latter, she could probably buy herself some time.
'Send your energy East,' she instructed the demon inside. 'If she's following traces of you, it will throw her off for a bit.'
She had no doubt that Misha would rest. Half demon she may be, Misha was still human too and humans needed to rest. Needed to recharge. It was a sad fact Ariha had grown up hindered by before merging with Maru.
'Is that really what you wish?' Maru asked. 'Is this all really what you wish?'
'What do you mean?' Ariha asked, surprised that the wolf seemed to be doubting her.
'Do not misunderstand, child. My power is yours and will always be yours as long as you need it. But I do not share your disillusions about that man. His obsession is palpable, his lust and greed are hungers that will never be filled, much like your own when it came to finding him," Maru replied. 'I am privvy to your thoughts and intentions and I know that some part of you has resolved to destroying anything that threatens your position at your father's side. Are you so able to end the lightning girl's pursuit by threatening her other half?'
Ariha did not respond, staring into the darkness of the hall, letting the shadows entertain her. It was not that she had no answer for Maru's question but that she did not want to answer.
'You are a Reaper born,' Maru reminded her, not at all put off by Ariha's silence. 'Should you kill the boy, that half of their shared soul will be gone forever. There will be no merging of souls. That demon will never be whole but a weakened pathetic half parasite, forced to live off of others. And thus will influence your friend greatly. She may never be the same again and will perhaps fade before your eyes. In essence, you will be killing them both. Can you do that? Is that what you want?'
'I want to stay with my father,' Ariha snapped ferociously, letting her passion cascade down upon the wolf inside. 'I do not wish to hurt my friends or threaten them. I wish to remain here and if they cannot respect those wishes peacefully, then I will make them through force. And if you do not approve nor like my decision, you are most welcome to leave.'
Maru's temper was as hot as her own anger, roaring to life with the shadowed heat of Hell. Ariha tensed but did not fully acknowledge the pain.
'I am with you to the end, girl,' Maru swore. 'But do not speak to me with such disrespect again or there will be nothing left of you but ash.'
She was really and truly mad to be lashing out in such a physical way.
"Maru-" Ariha began aloud, forgetting to speak internally.
She felt Maru's ever comforting presence fade as the wolf cast said presence out, channeling her energy into diverting Misha East. Ariha felt saddened by the wolf's retreat. The two of them rarely fought and it did not make her happy that perhaps the only being in existence that did not hate her was now mad at her. She made a not to make it up to the wolf spirit later, when this matter was settled and went off in search of Kabuto. Since Caleb's unfortunate accident and loss of his eyes, she'd been training under her father's right hand man, though she suspected he'd soon announce her training complete. She learned faster than Sasuke and hit a hell of a lot harder than him too. And when he wasn't running an errand for her, she'd prove it.

A/N: I had to rewrite this chapter various times, mostly due to personal issues which, yes, I will explain vaguely. It is mostly in part to Misha's character. As I am no longer friends with Misha's owner or Shouta's, both of them being the same person, I do have to absolve the Ariha/ Misha best friend dynamic. I don't want to spoil too much for the next chapter but I want to address a few things. 1) Blake will not become Ariha's new best friend. I'm counting this as Ariha's dark point where she is making questionable choices that weigh heavily on the part of her soul that is human, that does not believe that the imitation of life she is creating is humane but she's suppressing it, effectively cutting off the part of her that cares for anyone past her father. So, no, she and Blake won't be besties. The reason these chapters take so long is because I'm so far behind in the Naruto Shippuden episodes its not even funny and that's do in part to the fact that with (SPOILER) Orochimaru's "death", Father ends. Ariha's forced to accept that her father is dead (at least to her) and so she's faced with consequences but that's for later. The second part being that I'm working on The Lost Dragonborn and an original work known as Moon Fever, both of which keep stealing my attention. Nevertheless, Father will be finished, hopefully, by May at latest. I've been watching the episodes fairly regularly now and I'm trying to keep up with them in writing regard. The problem is where to put Ariha that doesn't mess too badly with continuity as I'm trying to be as canon as possible. Lastly, no, Caleb is not dead. He is now blind though and we're gearing up for him (SPOILER) to meet Sasuke. But that's a plot line for another chapter.